An average office worker or student spends up to 8 hours each day sitting behind their desk. Prolonged sitting causes lots of stress and pressure on the body, leading to various health hurdles such as diabetes, heart disease, or even deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

While some people assume it is customary to complain about body aches after a long day sitting at the office, sitting on the wrong chair is often to blame. Ideally, one should sit with knees and hips parallel and both feet flat on the floor. Your posture should also exert minimum pressure at the back of the thighs.

Most people tend to wonder, "why ergonomic chairs are important and what makes them special?" Ergonomic chairs help reduce the stress placed on the body, and here is why they are more of a necessity than a luxury for your well-being and good health.

What is an Ergonomic Chair?

Ergonomics is a science that studies human abilities and limitations to optimize general human well-being and overall performance in a workplace. A comfortable ergonomic office chair offers comfort and adjustable features that enable workers to sit in the proper posture and enhance their productivity. When one is seated comfortably, one can be more productive at the end of the day.

Benefits of an Ergonomic Chair 

Enhanced Concentration

It becomes increasingly difficult for any worker to become productive or concentrate on their work if they sit in one position all day. Fortunately, with the help of a comfortable ergonomic chair, one can feel better because it limits sitting discomfort. These chairs provide proper backbone and spine support.

Some people, however, may buy this chair, assuming it would magically increase their concentration, but that is not the case. These chairs do not directly enhance concentration. They simply facilitate comfortable working conditions, which in turn ensure that your employees can better focus on their tasks.

Health Benefits:

Neck and Shoulders

Chairs with no headrest often lead to shoulder or neck stiffness or critical complications such as cervical spondylosis. A headrest supports the head and neck while one talks on the phone or writes reports. In addition, one can appropriately align their spine, prevent arthritis, and avoid general muscle pain.

Pain Relief

Perhaps one of the most vital purposes of having a comfortable ergonomic chair is to prevent or relieve pain from long periods of sitting. It would be easy for one to feel exhausted if they sat in the wrong posture or the wrong chair for a long time. Nevertheless, a posture chair allows perfect blood flow through the body by adjusting the sitting height and position depending on the length of your legs. Also, to enhance excellent and regular blood circulation, keeping the legs at a 90-degree angle is advisable.

It is pretty common to find chairs with a hard surface that contributes to a lot of pressure to the hip area. As such, one may suffer tension and discomfort that gradually causes hip bursitis. This is why a comfortable ergonomic office chair is vital as it provides a great seat depth that supports your buttocks and hips as required.

Adjustability

The office furniture you settle on ought to be flexible to meet the requirements of every person in an office. People come in unique shapes and sizes; therefore, it is advisable to invest in good ergonomic furniture that can be adjusted to suit specific individual requirements. This would help keep everyone at work comfortable and concentrated on their work.

For instance, while looking for an office task chair, find one that enables crucial adjustments such as seat depth, height, adjustable armrest and a back recline. The fact that an ergonomic chair is ideal for extended sitting hours was not a result of mere speculations. Instead, these chairs have been tested and guaranteed to provide optimum safety and comfort for users by laboratory specialists.

Some ergonomic chairs have armrests, but not all are adjustable. Adjustable armrests help your arms conform perfectly to your current body posture. Users are bound to experience reduced muscle pain from continued use of the chairs.

Reduced Business Costs

Ergonomics in a workplace reduces costs by making workers more productive and reducing work-related injuries and compensation. Reduced business costs is another reason why cheap ergonomic chairs are essential. It’s possible to reduce lost work time through an excellent ergonomics program, which is more important now in the current financial crisis when most companies are forced to reduce the number of employees.

Offers Choices to fit Specific Needs

One may wonder, is there an ergonomic office chair perfectly designed to fit all? The answer is both yes and no. There are a variety of cheap ergonomic chair options for various people depending on their body sizes and weight. However, most ergonomic chair designs are famous for their flexibility and the ability to adjust to your specific needs.

Most ergonomic chairs are designed to feature a tilt tension. This springy mechanism affords the chair the ability to accommodate occupants of varying heights and weights comfortably. It is, therefore, crucial to get a well-designed chair, one of irrefutable quality, in order to deliver that one-size-fits-all that is essential in an office space. Therefore, as long as the ergonomic chair is reliably built, it will offer the adjustment settings needed to accommodate a wide range of users.

When selecting office chairs, a lot of purchasers will either go for comfortable ergonomic chairs or cheap ergonomic chairs. However, there is more to consider when getting your office chairs, including; 

• No chair is suitable for all activities. For instance, dentists require a different chair from industrial workers.
• Consider repair and maintenance costs.
• Look for features such as adjustability, seat depth, stability, seat height range and provision for a back and headrest.
• Optional ergonomic chair features such as wheels and swivel, while they are not vital for sitting, they enhance manoeuvrability and efficiency while working.

Recommended Ergonomic Office Chair - Soutien Ergonomic Office Chair 

The Soutien Ergonomic Office Chair from FlexiSpot is one of the best ergonomic office chairs with a headrest among other impressive features. The Soutien office chair is constructed with premium fleece mesh made from Italian-imported chenille and K+R temperature-sensitive fiber. As such, the mesh fiber offers maximum ventilation that allows airflow to the users back for a nice, calming effect. The mesh upholstery is breathable, flexible and durable providing you outstanding value for your money.  

The chair comes with a 3D lumbar support system featuring 3 height adjustment settings and a gentle rebound system. What’s more, the backrest is classily curved to ergonomically conform to the neck and spine for maximum headrest and lumbar support. 

The office chair also features plush cushioned armrests adjustable in 4 dimensions. The armrests have been ergonomically designed to contour effortlessly to your arms and elbows for maximum comfort. You’ll certainly be impressed by the 45° backrest tilt coupled with the elegantly designed headrest allowing you to recline in comfort as you take short breaks in between work.  

The Soutien ergonomic chair features the best-in-class Samhongsa Class 4 Gas Lift, certified by TUV/BIFMA/SGS with over 10000+ pressure test cycles. This means that the chair can comfortably support any weight thrown at it. Better still, it comes with an adjustable seat depth enabling you to customize your sitting experience based on your body shape for maximum comfort and productivity. 

Equipped with a 3D lumbar support system, 135° lounge tilt, premium quality mesh, 4D adjustable armrests, classic headrest and adjustable seat depth, the Soutien ergonomic office chair offers you the ultimate seating experience behind your desk. This is the real reason ergonomists highly recommend it.  

Wrapping Up

Ergonomic chairs come in handy to offer more than just comfort. Ergo chairs alleviate the effects of prolonged sitting and boost productivity. When looking to buy an ergonomic chair, you’ll want to consider models with headrests. Ergo chairs with adjustable headrest and backrest significantly improve posture and provide more support to your body. This goes a long way in alleviating shoulder, neck and other body aches associated with poor posture. Better still, ergonomic chairs with adjustable headrest and tilting backrest allow you to recline in comfort during your work breaks. 

With an ergonomic chair with a backrest, you can tilt your head back and receive support from the backrest, headrest and armrests while taking some of the pressure off your head and neck. Such short breaks come in handy to enable your body to rejuvenate and feel energized as you continue working throughout the day. We highly recommend the Soutien Ergonomic Office Chair for maximum comfort and productivity.